HUMIRA (adalimumab): The Biography Video Transcript

ANNCR VO:

The following is a video about HUMIRA (adalimumab) and its use in moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. Please listen to the Safety Considerations at the end of this video.

DR. OKUN:

I studied a variety of different areas of medicine in medical school and dermatology was the one that was most interesting to me. I myself had a skin problem when I was younger so I appreciated how important it was to have good healthy skin and how much people who have skin diseases suffer.

The generic name of HUMIRA is adalimumab. Each syllable of the name has particular significance. 'Ada' is unique to the molecule. The 'lim' syllable means that it is targeting a cytokine, in this case tumor necrosis factor or TNF. The 'u' means that it's fully human, and the 'mab' means it's a monoclonal antibody. Put it all together, you get adalimumab.

HUMIRA treats 7 diseases: What all 7 have in common is that all the diseases have overproduction of TNF.

TNF stands for tumor necrosis factor. TNF is a cytokine, a protein produced by the body that stimulates inflammation. If too much TNF is produced underneath the skin, the skin gets red and inflamed and thickened, you get the signs and symptoms of psoriasis.

HUMIRA has the ability to bind specifically to TNF, sort of like a sponge soaking up the excess TNF that's underneath the skin of psoriasis patients, and by not permitting this protein to cause inflammation, it reduces the inflammation that's occurring in the patient's skin.

In our largest clinical trial at month 4 about 7 out of 10 patients experienced at least 75% improvement in their psoriasis - and about 6 out of 10 patients became clear or almost clear. Because HUMIRA blocks TNF-alpha, patients may be at increased risk for serious infections. They need to monitor themselves for fevers, sweats, chills, cough, anything that makes them suspicious that they may be coming down with a serious infection.

HUMIRA is made in a manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico. I've been there once, it's incredible. It's like out of a science fiction movie. Everybody wearing these suits and multiple layers of protection to make sure that nothing gets contaminated. We're talking about manufacturing something that's going to be injected into people's body. We want to be as sure as humanly possible that what is being injected is free of any contaminants. The scientists and technicians who make HUMIRA are devoted to improving the health of patients.

I wake up in the morning thinking about what I can do to improve patients’ health. And before I go to sleep at night, I review what I've done to see if I've made a difference.

AbbVie is a patient-focused organization that is committed to improving the lives of patients. The science and innovation that we’ve done over the past 20 years has led us to HUMIRA which is having a huge impact on the lives of patients. We want to do more, we want to advance on what we've already done and try to come up with better and better therapies in the future.

ANNCR VO:

Serious infections have happened in people taking HUMIRA. These serious infections include tuberculosis (TB) and infections caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread throughout the body. Some people have died from these infections. HUMIRA may increase the chance of getting lymphoma, including a rare kind, or other cancers.

HUMIRA can cause serious side effects including hepatitis B infection in carriers of the virus, allergic reactions, nervous system problems, blood problems, heart failure, certain immune reactions including a lupus-like syndrome, liver problems, and new or worsening psoriasis.